Mark Cavendish fans had to wait five stages in this year's Tour de France bike race before the HTC-Columbia speedster collected his first victory.
No such wait was necessary at the 2010 Vuelta a Espana, however. Cavendish led his cycling team across the finish line with the best time on Saturday to win the team time trial and capture overall leader's red jersey.
The 10-mile after-dark event in Seville launched the 65th edition of the Grand Tour around Spain. It ends Sept. 19 in Madrid.
Before Saturday's win, Cavendish had eight victories in 2010, five of them at the Tour de France. The Manx cyclist rides for HTC-Columbia, a US-based team. Its No. 1 finish in the team time put one of its American team members, Tejay Van Garderen, in 7th place overall.
Italy's Liquigas team finished in second place, 10 seconds behind, followed by Team Saxo in third at 12 seconds behind.
The other US-based team, Garmin-Transitions, finished in sixth place, 17 seconds behind. Cyclists Tyler Farrar, David Millar, David Zabriskie, Tom Danielson and Christian Vande Velde finished in a group; the remaining four teammembers lagged in later.
Stage 2 is a 107-mile race from Alcalá de Guadaíra to Marbella. With two category 3 climbs, CyclingNews says it's uncertain whether a breakaway will survive this stage or the sprinters will go for it.
More race details at CyclingNews.
Universal Sports (check local listings) is providing live broadcast coverage beginning at 10 a.m. (ET). UniversalSports.com offers live video streaming for $14.99.
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